Profile: Moving Stonehenge

Harris, Barney

doi:10.1080/14655187.2016.1261250

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The construction of Stonehenge remains an ongoing question of considerable academic and public interest (Harris 2016). The monument consists of large sarsen triathlons, each up to 8m in height and 30 tonnes in weight, and smaller bluestones, up to 3m high and weighing 1–2 tonnes.…”

Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are, however, many examples of similar logistical and construction feats around the world from the third millennium BC, and there is ample ethnographic and experimental evidence to demonstrate how megaliths can be moved with ‘pre-industrial’ technology (e.g. Adams 2009; Harris 2016).…”

Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most recent experiments indicate that 10 individuals could move a one-tonne stone at a pace of around 1.6km per hour using a sledge system; hence, 20 individuals could easily have moved Stonehenge's smallest stone. This system involves placing logs on the ground as sleepers and pulling the stone, mounted on a sled, over the top of them (Harris 2016). Ethnographic examples of a similar technology can be found in West Sumba, Indonesia, where there is an ongoing practice of megalithic tomb construction (Adams 2009).…”

Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

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Building Stonehenge? An alternative interpretation of lipid residues in Neolithic Grooved Ware from Durrington Walls

Shillito¹

2019

Antiquity

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Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Construction Of Stonehengementioning

confidence: 99%

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Building Stonehenge? An alternative interpretation of lipid residues in Neolithic Grooved Ware from Durrington Walls

Shillito¹

2019

Antiquity

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“…In all these cases, the so‐called ‘rollers’ actually probably formed static slipways. Though this method has received considerably less attention than the roller‐hypothesis, more recent experiments (Harris ; SagnlandetLejre ) have complemented the ethnographic evidence demonstrating the efficacy of timber slipways. Others have shown how slipways composed of longitudinal lengths of timber are equally as effective if the sledge runners are fixed transversely (Eriksen , 77 fig.…”

Section: Rollers Unravelledmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roll Me a Great Stone: A Brief Historiography of Megalithic Construction and the Genesis of the Roller Hypothesis

Harris

2018

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary The idea that prehistoric, megalith‐building communities used cylindrical, wooden rollers to transport enormous stones – the ‘roller hypothesis’ – is ubiquitous within archaeological literature and public discourse on megalithic architecture. The likelihood that such devices were actually used to transport megaliths during prehistory remains highly questionable, yet the roller hypothesis has now dominated discussions of the subject for some 400 years. At its heart lies the assertion that fewer people were needed to transport large stones with rollers than without them. A review of experimental and ethnographic studies of megalith transport casts doubt on this central claim and suggests that simpler, better‐attested and more reliable methods were probably used. So when and why did the roller hypothesis become so popular? The historiography of the idea reveals how its advocates succeeded in rationalizing it within wider, paradigmatic beliefs about their contemporary worlds and the deep past. The roller hypothesis is bound up in outmoded, even jingoistic perspectives of megalithic construction and the evolution of technology. To advance our understanding of megalithic construction a more critical stance is herein advocated.

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Letting the stones speak: An interdisciplinary survey of stone collection and construction at Liangzhu City, prehistoric Lower Yangtze River

et al. 2020

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Our interdisciplinary investigation of the stone collection and construction process of Liangzhu City walls offers important evidence to understand the engineering and organization behind the construction. We examined spatial distributions, physical and petrological characteristics of the stones discovered from our excavations of representative wall sections. These results were compared with similar aspects as well as sedimentation contexts and availability of the surveyed stones from the surrounding regions to identify the source areas for the stone collection. We developed criteria based on physical and petrological characteristics and spatial distribution of stones for the identification of construction units and estimated the volume of stones for each unit. We concluded that even though the overall scale of stonework construction was enormous, the actual tasks of stone collection and construction were likely completed by small individual working groups. Liangzhu workers preferred to collect directly available, hand‐portable stones from source areas. However, some areas with suitable stone sources were neglected by Liangzhu workers. The total workforce may have followed a central organization, and many groups likely worked simultaneously. Through the repeated efforts of numerous small working groups, Liangzhu society constructed a massive, multicomponent infrastructure. Our study holds implications for wider archaeological research of ancient stone architecture.

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Profile: Moving Stonehenge

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Building Stonehenge? An alternative interpretation of lipid residues in Neolithic Grooved Ware from Durrington Walls

Building Stonehenge? An alternative interpretation of lipid residues in Neolithic Grooved Ware from Durrington Walls

Roll Me a Great Stone: A Brief Historiography of Megalithic Construction and the Genesis of the Roller Hypothesis

Letting the stones speak: An interdisciplinary survey of stone collection and construction at Liangzhu City, prehistoric Lower Yangtze River

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